The Dog Cafe, the country's first, is opening in LA next month

As much as we love LA's dog-friendly restaurants, we don't know how well belly rubs and baby talk would fly at the dinner table. But at the Dog Cafe, it's just standard decorum.

The self-proclaimed first dog cafe in the country is officially opening up on April 7. Angelenos will be able to sip coffee and tea while playing with over a dozen adoptable pups. The Dog Cafe—which sits at the blurry border of East Hollywood, Silver Lake, Koreatown and Westlake—is currently accepting reservations in one hour blocks.

Photograph: Courtesy the Dog Cafe

Like all of the attempts at animal cafes in LA, there's a health code-driven catch: There's no food served or allowed inside. Instead, the cafe prepares tea and Grounds & Hounds Coffee in a separate space that can then be enjoyed in the pup play area.

The space is currently in soft opening, with walk-up admission available from 11am to 7pm from Wednesday to Sunday. Once it officially opens, the Dog Cafe will add Tuesdays to its rotation and switch to a reservation system ($10 per hour).

The Dog Cafe has been fundraising since 2014 and hosted a pop-up—or "pup-up"—in Downtown LA last year. Eventually, the cafe hopes to allow customers to bring their own dogs, but in the meantime personal pets are limited to outdoor interactions.

The Dog Cafe is located at 240 N Virgil Ave, Unit 13. It opens on April 7 at 1pm. Reservations are $10 per hour.

Michael Juliano is the editor in Los Angeles and has been with Time Out since 2013.

He helps Angelenos keep up with all of the city's most inspiring happenings, including L.A.'s best things to do and its arts and culture scene. Michael has called L.A. home since 2011 and previously contributed to KPCC, The A.V. Club and CNET. He has a soft spot for deli sandwiches and Disneyland.